URGENT: your help needed for Proposal for Phase 1 Matching Grants &Seed Funding

As outlined below, the Florida Senate is considering a bill for some substantial funding for SBIR Phase 1 matching grants and also seed funding for creating new jobs in Florida (see attached PDF). If your company has had any experience with SBIR grants, we need your voice to explain "how the grant helped my company" as part of the advocacy for this legislation. If you can help, please contact Ed Schons NLT Monday, 8 February or sooner via email to eshons@mail.ucf.edu or phone (407)247-6500 (cell) to express your willingness to help. The greatest impact will be if you can go to Tallahassee next Tuesday afternoon (see below - Ed can provide other details), but you will need to use your own travel funds. If you have a positive SBIR experience to share but cannot get to Tallahassee on this short notice, please do contact Ed to see if a written note might be useful and to get his guidance on how to address it, etc.

Many thanks in advance for any support you can provide to this important initiative.

Jim Pearson

FPC Executive Director

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Senator Jeremy Ring (D-Margate), proposing that the Senate Select Committee on Florida’s Economy, for which he is Vice Chair, include $10 million for phase 1 matching grants and $2 million for seed funding in its “Jobs for Florida” draft legislation. This is in addition to the commercialization matching grant program already included in section 21 of the draft bill.

The revised proposal will be discussed during the select committee’s next meeting on Tuesday, February 9^th from 4 – 6 p.m. in 412 Knott Building. Wendy asks that if you are in Tallahassee that day, it would be wonderful for members of BioFlorida or other supporters in general to attend the meeting and voice their support.

Edward L. Schons,
Director

UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA
University Economic Development Department